


Dollhouse

by BlueCatBlues



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Ive reread this 20 times now if there r any formatting issues or typos im so sorry, M/M, dont let this fool u tho its like 60 percent poor attempts at humor, fluff?, naru's not physically present but there's lots of narumika friendship stuff, shu's possessing mado-nee, this is just me projecting my love for valkyrie by misusing horror tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29027727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueCatBlues/pseuds/BlueCatBlues
Summary: In which Mika accidentally buys a haunted doll and ends up stumbling into a horror movie turned rom-com.
Relationships: Itsuki Shuu/Kagehira Mika, Kagehira Mika & Narukami Arashi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	Dollhouse

**Author's Note:**

> So this was meant to come out on Halloween but then I procrastinating for like, 4 months so I just took the recent event announcement as a sign for me to write an ending already, so here we are. Enjoy.

“ Mika-chan, I love you, but that thing is _haunted_. “ 

“ ‘n, it ain’t a thing, her name’s ‘ Mademoiselle ‘. The man at the store was eager fo’ me to take care of ‘er. “

Arashi let out a defeated sigh as she sat down on the couch next to her roommate. Mika was seriously too innocent sometimes. “ Again, I love you, but the man was just trying to sell the doll to you. I mean, look at that dress. “ 

“ ‘S real pretty, ain’t it? “ 

“ It’s old, is what it is. I’m not gonna be here for a week, so I won’t be here to protect my precious friend from getting his face clawed out by a haunted doll. “ 

Arashi was already nearing the exit when she heard “ Mado-nee wouldn’t hurt me “.

_Great_ , she thought, he already gave it a nickname. Mika was _definitely_ going to get killed. 

  
  


———————————————————

It had been two days since Arashi had left, and Mika was starting to suspect that there might have been some merit to her words. 

At first, it was small things, like the kitchen door being open when Mika was sure he had closed it before going to sleep, or the sudden disappearance of his favorite cat slippers that Arashi had gotten him on New Years. Or the fridge being re-arranged, or the lights turning on and off.

Okey, so maybe it wasn’t _all_ small things, but Mika had seen enough horror movies for that stuff to not bother him. Besides, the ghost wasn’t hurting him, so that was a good sign, right? 

Well, he might have woken up with a small bruise on his arm, but he could have hit it at any other point. It wasn’t concrete evidence in any way. 

Mika, despite his better judgement, decided to tell Arashi about the situation, so he really shouldn’t have been surprised when his phone died after Arashi had messaged him back with a simple text that said ‘ RUN ‘.

———————————————————

Getting his phone repaired ended up costing more than expected, but after the incident he decided to actually try making friends with whatever was haunting him. Arashi kept insisting that it was Mado-nee, but that was just her being paranoid, right?

_‘ A woman’s intuition is never wrong, Mika-chan ‘_ , said the imaginary Arashi in his voice, _‘ you’ve been wrong before ‘_ he responds in his head before noticing Mademoiselle staring at him. 

_‘ Okey, that’s weird ‘_ , he thought. Her eyes were _definitely_ closed when he had bought her. In fact, he was quite sure he had left her in his bedroom before heading out. 

_ ‘ See? I’m always right ♡. ‘ _

“ Ngh, Naru-Chan, ya don’t h’ve to gloat. “

Oh, right, she wasn’t here. Just him and a potentially haunted doll. That may or may not kill him. Fun.

“ Eh, Mado-nee? Y’er a good doll, right? Ya wouldn’t want t’ murder me ‘n stuff, yeah? “

No response. Of course she wouldn’t respond, this was probably just one big coincidence and he wasn’t actually being haunted.

“ Hn’gh, Mado-nee, y’re really givin’ me the scare. If y’re ‘n not tryin’ to kill me, then give me a sign by tomorrow? “ 

Mika carefully picked her up and put her on the kitchen table. If she doesn’t give a sign, which she probably won’t do, he might as well get her as far away from his room as possible, right? 

He doesn’t know whether to be surprised or not when he wakes up and sees Mado-nee on the floor and all the croissants gone from his fridge the next morning.

———————————————————

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-have u killed it yet??? 

From: Mika👻🍭🧟

To: Naru-Chan😸

-‘M not killin’ her. I think she likes croissants???

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-Honey, you are SO dead

Mika’s phone, unsurprisingly, stops working again. 

———————————————————

After getting his phone fixed for the third time in the same week ( much to the amusement of the person working in the shop ), Mika decides that he’s going to try and talk to Mado-nee. She seems nice, so she would probably hear him out, right?

It wasn’t even the haunting that was the issue, in fact, he had already gotten used to her antics after being haunted for 5 days. She would always turn the lights off after him, or turn the tv off whenever he forgot to. As long as he brought back croissants and didn’t wear the cat slippers ( which she seemed to hate, for some reason, much to Arashi’s annoyance, they were _cute_ , thank you very much ), she would leave him alone for the most part. Even with the phone, it would only get ruined after he got told to get rid of her, so she must have gotten attached to him, right?

Maybe Mado-nee was just lonely. He couldn’t imagine that she got to see much of the world, locked behind a glass box in a dusty junk store no one ever went to. And maybe he was lonely too, he wouldn’t mind being her friend! 

As nice as Arashi was for staying with him, she was always busy with modelling, and he couldn’t imagine her staying in Japan long-term or continuing to live with him. 

Maybe he’s being an idiot right now, trying to order an Ouija board online to talk to the doll that is haunting him, but as he stares at Mado-nee’s eyes, he swears that _maybe_ , just _maybe_ she wants to befriend him too. 

——————————————————— 

“ ‘erm, I-I don’t really know how to do this, so b' patien’ with me? “

Mika’s room currently looked like a typical horror movie set. All of the lights were turned off and the only things illuminating the room were the candles he had found laying around. The storm had cut all of the electricity off, so maybe trying to talk to a ghost while having no way of contacting anyone was a bad idea, but Mika never really considered himself the smartest tool in the shed. 

“ ‘gh, uhm, what’s ‘yer name? “

Nothing happened at first, but after a particularly strong thunderstorm the planchette under Mika’s palm had started moving, making him yelp in surprise. 

-S-H-U—I-T-S-U-K-I-

Oh, so he wasn’t being haunted by the doll but rather its... owner? 

“ Uh, nice meetin’ ya? Do ya ow’ Mado-Nee? “

He watches as the planchette moves to ‘ YES ‘.

“ R-Right, that was pro’lly obvious. Why d’ya haunt me? I don’t really min’ but I guess I hafta ask... “

There’s silence again before the board starts moving again. 

-B-E-C-A-U-S-E—Y-O-U—W-A-N-T-E-D—T-O—H-A-R-M—H-E-R-

“ Harm ‘er? Thin’ there’s a misunderstandin’? Unh, can ya tal’ in another way? The board takes a’lotta time... “

The planchette starts moving again and Mika’s a bit more prepared this time. The sudden pain in his fingers as they start moving on their own doesn’t get any less weird and it doesn’t take long for the planchette to land on a ‘ YES ‘. 

Mika waits for something to happen, and to his disappointment, nothing does, _at first_. Just as he was about to blow the candles, pink smoke started to come out of the board, moving around the air for a bit before gathering near where Mado-nee is standing.

Mika blinks, and now there’s a person standing in front of him. Well, not a person, but more of a silhouette of one. Looking closely, the ghost looked like he was about Mika’s age, but instead of wearing an old onesie like Mika was, the man was dressed in what looked like a costume from the Victorian era. A gorgeous red and pink suit accompanied by a black waistcoat and a top hat resting upon the ghost’s fluffy pink hair. 

“ Y’er really pretty. “ 

Mika startles himself by blurting that out, but the ghost somehow looks even more startled than him, purple eyes looking at him questioningly.

“ You have a real life ghost standing in front of you, and the first thing you think of is my appearance? “ 

“ W-Well, y’really ar’ tho? I mean, Mado-nee was already a real pretty lady, so I guess I shouldn’ be surprised’? “

The ghost, no, _Shu_ , Mika corrects himself, just looked more lost than before.

“ You’re an odd one, aren’t you? Well, I suppose it does not matter. I had misjudged you. “

“ Misjudged? “

“ I thought you intended to harm Mademoiselle, but clearly that was not the case, and for that I thank you. Seeing as she is quite an old model, many had attempted to take her apart for research, or hadn’t cared for her antiquity and simply didn’t care about how they handled her. 

...I had assumed you were like the latter, but it seems as though that wasn’t the case. I’d usually haunt the others until they gave up ownership of her, but you’re the first person to have no ill intent towards her, so I am quite... troubled on as to what to do. “

That was a lot to take in. To think others would mishandle Mado-nee in that way... He really didn’t want to give her up and have her end up in the wrong hands again. Which meant...

“ Ya can stay here? If ya want to. I can talk ‘t Naru-chan and explain’ the situatio’. “

“ You would... have us stay? “

“ W-Well, if ya ain’t hauntin’ me, I don’ really hafta be scared, right? Ya don’t... plan to haun’ me again? “

“ Well, you do seem to have good intentions, so I don’t see the need to. “ 

“ Oh, great! I’ll text Naru-chan right now! ...Oh, she says that you can stay as long as ya admit that the cat slippers ar’ cute. “

“ Absolutely not. “ 

———————————————————

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-Sry my work got extended again :(( hopefully ur new ghost bf can keep u company ♡

From: Mika👻🍭🧟

To: Naru-Chan😸

-we’re not dating tho? 

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-Oh, i know, i was just joking. If u actually decided to date the ghost owner of the doll that was haunting u, i think i would actually start to reconsider our friendship. 

From: Mika👻🍭🧟

To: Naru-Chan😸

-nooo, dont do it naru-chan

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-😈

————————————————————————————————

Living with a ghost, as it turns out, isn’t nearly half as scary as movies make it seem. In fact, it’s weirdly... nice. 

Shu refused to talk to him at first, mostly communicating when in Mado-nee’s body with the vaguest of gestures, but it didn’t take long for him to slowly start opening up ( or maybe Mika’s puppy eyes were just that good, who knows ). 

Turns out he wasn’t actually some sort of fancy Victorian noble like Mika had assumed, but a tailor to a royal family. He had made his and Mado-nee’s outfits from scratch with whatever money he managed to earn from smaller commission jobs.

Whenever Mika would try to bring up his death, he was quick to change the subject, something about ‘ never wanting to discuss Tenshouin ever again ‘, whatever that meant. Mika didn’t push him to talk though. If he didn’t wanna talk about it, then it was probably safe to assume that it wasn’t the most peaceful of deaths.

Something that Shu _was_ kin to talk about though, was Mado-nee herself. What her favorite colors were, how exactly Mika should clean her, as well as other, in Mika’s words ‘ assorted Mado-nee facts ‘. 

But even without Shu’s long speeches, Mika could see how much Shu clearly cared for her. It was evident in the envy in his eyes whenever Mika would hold her, or how sometimes he would try brushing her hair back only to have his hand fall through. He really wanted to help in whatever way he could, hence why all of his pocket money went into buying doll care supplies, but it somehow didn’t feel enough, if only...

“ Have ya ‘ver possesed a human? “

“ ...What? “

“ W-Well, I was thinkin’... ya can get inside Mado-nee, yeah? Can’t ya do the same ‘t me? “

“ Why... would I want to do that. Even if I did, that would be very dangerous, not only for you but for me as well, there is no guarantee that I’ll be able to get out of your body and- “

“ S’rry, it was a dumb suggestio’. I just thought if ya w’re in my body ya could touch Mado-nee an’ ya seem t’ really want ‘t do it, so... “

Shu was staring at him with wide eyes, and Mika looked back at him, confused. Was the request really that odd? 

“ You would... risk your own health? For me? To fulfill my own selfish desire? “ 

“ Well, it’d make ya happy, so... I think we should try it? I-I’ve read that hauntin’ go better if y’ar victim’s asleep... not that I’m a victim thou’. I guess ya can... try it tonigh’? If ya want? “

Shu didn’t answer, choosing instead to disappear into thin air. Well, that was fine, hopefully the offer didn’t freak him out too much and he’d be back soon.

With that in mind, Mika went to sleep, only to wake up to a very tired wrist and 5 new dresses made for Mademoiselle.

———————————————————

  
  


From: Mika👻🍭🧟

To: Naru-Chan😸

-I think ure gonna hafta to reconsider our friendship. 

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-oh no plz dont tell me u fell in love with the weird victorian ghost haunting u while i was away. 

From: Mika👻🍭🧟

To: Naru-Chan😸

-I fell in love with the weird victorian ghost haunting me while u were away. 

From: Naru-Chan😸

To: Mika👻🍭🧟

-u were meant to deny it.

From: Mika👻🍭🧟

To: Naru-Chan😸

-I know. 

———————————————————

Even after realizing that Mika was in love, nothing had changed between him and Shu. Shu still ( occasionally ) got into his body to make clothes for Mado-nee ( and a few for Mika, which Shu kept denying were for him even though they were in his exact size ). 

Shu also now disappeared a lot less, choosing instead to spend his days criticizing the movies Mika was watching ( ‘ that is NOT what a ghost looks like, Kagehira, I thought that humans would be smarter than that ‘ ).

But it was fun, in its own way. While Shu had lived through enough hauntings to understand phones and TVs and such, it was still funny seeing him try to figure out modern slang, or the speaking microwave Mika and Arashi had gotten on sale ( ‘ Mika, that device just spoke to me, are there any other ghosts that I should be aware of? ‘ ).

But even with the normalcy of their routine, Mika knew it couldn’t last for long. He was constantly on the verge of confessing his love every time Shu did as much as look at him, and Arashi was coming back in a week, and he really doubted that she, of all people, would be able to keep her mouth shut. 

It was another normal day, or at least it had seemed like one, when Shu just kept staring at him. It was a bit unnerving, as he would keep his responses vague whenever Mika would try and ask about it, but the staring never stopped and it was honestly starting to make him a bit uncomfortable. Shu wasn’t planning to murder him after all this time, right? 

“ ...Kagehira. “

Mika jumped from his seat at the sound of his name being called. Shu sounded concerned, nothing had happened though, right? He couldn't recall having done anything wrong, except maybe buying pink threads instead of the red ones like Shu had asked, but the store clerk had insisted that they didn’t have any more red ones and-

“ Kagehira, I can tell that you’re overthinking. Stop it. “

“ N’gyah, s’rry, I didn’t mean ‘t. Did ya need somethin’ from m’? “

“ Not... necessarily, I would, however, like to discuss a... rather intricate matter with you. “ 

“ Intricat’? S’re? Are y’er sure I hadn’t done somethin’ to upset ya? “

“ No, you haven’t... in fact it’s the opposite. Wait here. “ 

Mika didn’t even have a second to question what was happening before Shu disappeared and reappeared again, Mado-nee now in his arms. 

“ You see... my life had not been the kindest, I suppose. I chose to be a tailor much to my family’s disapproval, and later ended up working for a man who didn’t treat me with much respect either. God knows what my friend saw in him...

Well, it doesn’t really matter. I was executed, to put it simply, as I was suspected in an assassination ploy against the prince. I obviously didn’t have enough free time to even entertain such foolish thoughts, and yet the court did not believe me. I do not blame them, I hadn’t done a good job of concealing my hatred for the prince. “

“ Ya said ya were executed... what did they do to ya? “

“ I was beheaded. Publicly. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Enough time has passed for the scars within my heart to deal. I may have been... somewhat dishonest with you. “

“ ...’bout what? “

“ About Mademoiselle... You see, before I was executed, I had asked a friend of mine to save me. He couldn’t do much against the prince’s orders, but he did find a magician who put my soul inside of Mademoiselle. For as long as she was untouched, I would live on. 

That’s why... seeing you handle her with such tenderness... it made me want to speak to you. I’m not... used to that, to the warmth of a human. You somehow managed to defy my every expectation and instead of paying you back, I inhabited your house, inhabited your body. 

You could say it’s my consciousness finally catching up to me, but the guilt I feel is tremendous, so... I was thinking of letting go. I’ve taken Mademoiselle for granted for long enough. I know you’ll take good care of her, so I’ll leave her with you. I don’t want to burden either of you anymore. “

“ Y-Ya can’t just do that! Ya can’t just decide that! “

Mika was trembling as he raised his voice, startling both him and Shu. He wasn’t just gonna... leave him, right? Not after everything that they had been through. 

“ You don’t have to convince me otherwise, I- “

“ No, I can! I can an’ I will! Ya came in’to m’ life an’ made m’ care for ya, only for ya to dissapea’? I d-don’t wan’ that, an’ Mado-nee wouldn’t wan’ that either! Y're bein' so selfish! I can’t… I can’t lose ya! “

If Mika was trembling before, he was fully shaking now, tears running down his face as he clutched at the hems of his shirt. 

Meanwhile Shu was… completely stunned.He was expecting a tearful farewell at most, and not… this. His first instinct was to comfort Mika somehow, before realizing he couldn't exactly hug the other without his arms passing through him. Curse those damned ghost restrictions. 

“ Kagehira, I won’t leave if it… upsets you so much. I didn’t think this would... cause you such distress. “

“ ...Y’er real stupid, ya know that? “

“ E-Excuse me? “

Mika had mostly calmed down by then, instead choosing to glare at Shu. Shu was mostly baffled, had he really upset him that much?

“ For someone who’s lived through a buncha years, ya sure are missing s’me of the basics. S’ I’ll just say it: I love ya, so of course I’d care if ya were t’ just disappear! “

“ Y-you… love me? But… “

“ Ya don’t hafta respond, I just had to get that outta me. “

Shu opens his mouth to respond, and then promptly closes it before disappearing in a burst of pink smoke. 

Mika sighed. Maybe confessing wasn’t the right thing to do after all. It’s not as if he was planning to do it! If he was, he’d try to be romantic about it, or something. He’s not exactly sure what the guidelines for confessing your love for a centuries old ghost entail, but he’s pretty sure he’s broken all of them. 

“ Kagehira, look up. “

Oh no, Shu came back already. Was he mad? Did Mika ruin any and all chances of Shu staying? Did he-

“ Kagehira, we’ve been over this. You really need to stop overthinking so much. “

“ S-S’rry. “

“ You don’t need to apologize, in fact… I’m the one that needs to do so. I may have… overreacted slightly by disappearing in the middle of your emotional turmoil. “

“ So… Ya don’t hate me? “

Shu took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure when the last time he had a heart to heart was, but he was pretty sure that it was long enough ago that he was severely out of his element. 

“ I don’t hate you. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. In fact, I’m very... fond of you. I’ve spent centuries of my cursed existence watching monster after monster get their hands on Mademoiselle. I never expected to find someone who would treat her well, let alone make my wish of holding her again come true. 

And it’s not just Mademoiselle who you’ve extended your warmth towards, but… me as well. It’d be unfair to you for me to hide this any longer, so I suppose I should be honest as well… I love you as well, and I’m willing to stay for as long as you will have me.“

Mika really didn’t want for the tears to start coming out again, but it was getting pretty hard to control his emotions. It wasn’t long before he started sobbing again. Shu looked at him with concern. 

“ D-Don’t worry, I’m just real happy righ’ now. Ya love me, and I love ya, and we’re gonna be together. “

Shu smiled before placing his hand on top of Mika’s. As expected, it fell through, but it’s not as if either of them cared. There were still things left to do, like explaining your oddly paranormal love life to your friends, or working out details to said love life. 

But for now, they were both happy to enjoy each other’s company, and for as weird as the circumstances were, neither would think of a place they’d rather be. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank u for making it thru, expect more enstars content if i dont take half a year to write smth again. Good luck to everyone grinding for the event.


End file.
